USC 89
|Row 3 title = Participants |Row 3 info = 47 |Row 4 title = Debuting countries |Row 4 info = None |Row 5 title = Returning countries |Row 5 info = , , , , , , , , , , , |Row 6 title = Withdrawing countries |Row 6 info = , , , , |Row 7 title = Winner |Row 7 info = Álvaro Soler "Sofía" |Row 8 title = Timeline |Row 8 info = ◄ Saint-Denis 88 Madrid 90 ► }} Universong 89, the 89th edition of the Universong Contest, was held between June 3rd and 23rd, 2016, in the Norwegian city of Tromsö. The second production of Norway to the Universong Contest was the second in the country's history in contest, and the first since USC 56, also held in Tromsö. This was possible thanks to the winning of Ina Wroldsen & Broiler with the song "Lay it on me", on the previous edition held in Saint Denis, Reunion Island, France. 47 countries took part in this edition, with no debuting countries, something that didn't happen since USC 87 in Luxembourg, though this edition sees the return of 11 countries, despite Congo DR - one of the favourites from the audience - was withdrawn of the contest during the semifinal video days, since no player was managing the song submitted - Je te pardonne by Maître Gims and Sia. This song, even though, can compete in a later Universong edition in the future. Known as the "edition of the stars", because of the level of the participants, Spain was declared the winner of the USC for the second time in its history (and this time, without being involved in any tie with other country). Álvaro Soler, one of the previous favourites to win this edition and also a returning artist for this competition, won this edition with the song "Sofía", earning a total of 257 points (the third best point record for a Universong winner) and eleven sets of 12 points (a record that equalled the achievement of Sergey Lazarev, winner of USC 73 for Russia, who also got eleven sets of 12 points), taking the lead from the middle-to-late voting stages in order to become a runaway leader, before sharing and struggling for the first place with other favourites who were taking the lead in the earlier voting stages. "Sofía" became with this winning the second entry from Spain to win since USC 67, the fourth winning of a native Spanish-speaking country and the fourth time a song in Spanish language wins USC, the first since USC 80. On the other hand, the second place went to Kosovo, represented by Dua Lipa with her hit "Be the one", getting a total of 158 points, breaking thus not only the point record of Kosovo, but also reaching its best historical position (breaking as well the record of points from USC 87, and also the record of placement held by Ardian Bujupi and Era Istrefi). Also, a new record was broken: the margin between winner and runner-up was overcame this edition, with 99 points of difference between Álvaro Soler and Dua Lipa, a record that was kept from USC 70, and that was later surpassed in USC 93, with a 100-point difference between winner Loïc Nottet from Luxembourg and runner-up Eivør Pálsdóttir from Faroe Islands. The third place was taken by Poland, who entered for the ninth time to Sylwia Grzeszczak, this time with the song "Tamta dziewczyna". This song, who was another of the favourites from the audience during the whole contest, got in the end 151 points, making it one of the most successful appearances of Sylwia (who was become one of the most successful artists ever in Universong), and also the second third place for Poland. The fourth and fifth places were closed from each other in points: Softengine from Finland (in their second participation), with the song "The sirens"; and Delta Goodrem from Australia (in her third overall participation, and second for Australia), with the song "Dear life", got 150 and 142 points respectively (in the case of Australia, making a third consecutive top 10 finish). Another international star taking part was Sweden's Tove Lo, who paired with USA's Nick Jonas to sing "Close" in this edition. They, being also favourites during the final stage of the contest, ended up sixth with 122 points. The top 10 of this edition was completed by the songs from Moldova, France, Vatican City and Israel. About the city Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Outside of Norway, Tromso and Tromsö are alternative spellings of the city. Tromsø is considered the northernmost city in the world with a population above 50,000. The most populous town north of it is Alta, Norway, with a population of 14,272 (2013). Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality has a population of (2015) 72,066, but with an annual influx of students it has over 75,000 most of the year. It is the largest urban area in Northern Norway and the third largest north of the Arctic Circle (following Murmansk and Norilsk). Most of Tromsø, including the city centre, is located on the island of Tromsøya, 350 kilometres (217 mi) north of the Arctic Circle. In 2012, Tromsøya had a population of 36,088. Substantial parts of the urban area are also situated on the mainland to the east, and on parts of Kvaløya—a large island to the west. Tromsøya is connected to the mainland by the Tromsø Bridge and the Tromsøysund Tunnel, and to the island of Kvaløya by the Sandnessund Bridge. The city is warmer than most other places located on the same latitude, due to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream. The city centre of Tromsø contains the highest number of old wooden houses in Northern Norway, the oldest house dating from 1789. The city is a cultural centre for its region, with several festivals taking place in the summer. Some of Norway's best-known musicians, Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge of the electronica duo Röyksopp and Lene Marlin grew up and started their careers in Tromsø. Noted electronic musician Geir Jenssen also hails from Tromsø. The most famous football team in the area, Tromsø IL, currently plays in the Norwegian Premier League. Semifinal 1 In this semifinal, the 22 semifinalists plus shall vote in this semifinal. will decide in which semifinal it'll vote. The rest of the countries can vote too, but their votes will be counted as Rest of the World. Semifinal 2 In this semifinal, the 22 semifinalists plus shall vote in this semifinal. will decide in which semifinal it'll vote. The rest of the countries can vote too, but their votes will be counted as Rest of the World. Grand Final Returning artists Special Awards Bartek Award Best Non-English Award hph01 Award Category:Universong Contest